Economy Chat

This is the world’s first ride-sharing car – and it’ll take over our roads in 2025

This is the world’s first ride-sharing car – and it’ll take over our roads in 2025

VOLKSWAGEN Group start-up Moia has introduced the world’s very first purpose-built ride-sharing vehicle. Due to be released onto the streets of Hamburg next year, the fully electric car has been designed with the vision of drastically reducing traffic and pollution in major cities. The six-seater van will operate in conjunction with a customer app, where […]

VOLKSWAGEN Group start-up Moia has introduced the world’s very first purpose-built ride-sharing vehicle.

Due to be released onto the streets of Hamburg next year, the fully electric car has been designed with the vision of drastically reducing traffic and pollution in major cities.

The Moia system will use the world’s first purpose-built ride-sharing vehicleMOIA

The six-seater van will operate in conjunction with a customer app, where users will be able to order and pay for their trip before they are picked up.

The system works in a similar way to Uber and other ride-hailing services, where users can see how much a trip will cost and what cars are available before they ride.

But the difference for Moia is the use of an algorithm that groups customers together depending on their destination, increasing the capacity of cars and eliminating lengthy detours.

By grouping users together in the one vehicle, Moia hopes to limit the number of cars on the road and reduce pollution – with the goal of removing one million cars from European and US city roads by 2025.

MOIA The car is built with a spacious and comfortable interior[/caption]

The service is expected to be on the road in Hamburg by late 2018MOIA

The Moia system will also include a driver app to continue to provide work for professional drivers.

Ole Harms, Moia CEO, said: “We started one year ago at TechCrunch in London with the vision of partnering with cities to improve the efficiency on their streets.

“We want to create a solution for the typical transport problems that cities face, such as traffic, air and noise pollution, and lack of space, while simultaneously helping them reach their sustainability goals.

“In 2018, we’ll be ready to launch our ride pooling concept internationally and take the first steps toward our goal of reducing the number of cars in major cities by one million in Europe and the USA by 2025.”

More news on electric cars

UBER KILLER

This is the world's first ride-sharing car - and it'll be on our roads in 2025

free of charge

London's first electric black cab is here - with wifi and phone chargers

don't waste it

Cars 'to be powered by cow poo' from 2020 - and it'll even be pollution free

rapid refill

Electric car batteries will be recharged in FIVE MINUTES - but not until 2019

out of juice

Brits forced out of diesels ‘could be left stranded' in electric cars

cheap as chips

The best Black Friday deal EVER? You can get a new electric car for PENNIES

pick of the range

The electric cars with the best range - and where you can charge them

ON THE CHARGE

The world's fastest electric cars that'll beat most supercars off the lights

trucking hell

Tesla reveals new electric truck - and stuns world with fastest EVER model

You may like

The world’s fastest electric cars that’ll beat most supercars away from the lights

TESLA shocked the world when it announced a new Roadster with mind-blowing performance. Boss Elon Musk claimed it can do 0-60mph in 1.9 seconds – figures that would make it the fastest production in the world. But it’s not the only electric cars that can embarrass most Lamborghini, Ferrari and Porsche supercars from a standing […]

on top of the world

for fxx-k sake

MG set to make history by selling electric cars next summer — as Brits start switch to zero-emission motoring

MG will leapfrog the likes of Ford and Vauxhall by selling electric cars from next summer. The iconic British brand – now in Chinese hands – has been flat-lining with low-quality toilet seat cars and piddly sales for years. But the battery-powered ZSe – priced under £20k – should make MG future-proof as Brits start […]

MG will leapfrog the likes of Ford and Vauxhall by selling electric cars from next summer.

The iconic British brand – now in Chinese hands – has been flat-lining with low-quality toilet seat cars and piddly sales for years.

MG is leading the way in manufacturing zero-emissions cars

But the battery-powered ZSe – priced under £20k – should make MG future-proof as Brits start to switch to zero-emission motoring.

The only new electric car under £20k today is the Renault Zoe supermini.

MG boss Matthew Cheyne said: “The ZS is the start of a new era. We’ve already dropped diesel and we will launch the fully-electric ZSe next year.

“The speed of development is phenomenal. The tech is already in some Roewe products in China.”

The Chinese-owned British brand as experienced sluggish sales in recent years, but could be in for a boost with the Zse model

For now, though, MG has just launched the petrol-powered ZS, from £12,495 for the 1.5-litre manual.

The 1-litre three-cylinder turbo (lifted from the Vauxhall Corsa) with six-speed auto is £15,995.

I’ll go right ahead and say it. I wasn’t expecting much from this car. The MG3 supermini is a plastic turd inside and the GS SUV, while better inside, looks like a plastic turd outside.

The ZS is night and day in comparison. The interior is much, much improved with soft-touch materials and decent tech (8in touchscreen, CarPlay, cruise control) and it is much easier on the eye at the school gate.

final countdown

FAST PROFIT

Oxford to ban petrol and diesel cars in 2020 in bid to be car-free by 2030

OXFORD is hoping to become one of the first cities in the world to ban petrol and diesel vehicles – while allowing electric cars. Only ‘zero-emission’ vehicles will be allowed in six central streets in three years’ time. The car-free zone may then be gradually extended in 2025 and 2030 to include the whole city. […]

The new Toyota Prius would be allowed as it has passed zero emissions testsGetty Images - GettyA clear Oxford afternoon but the High Street becomes very congested during rush hoursGetty - Contributor

They will have to replace vehicles with electric ones. This includes local authority bin lorries and gritters. The city will also have to spend £7million on number plate recognition CCTV to police the ban. Only hybrids which can switch to zero emissions will be allowed.

Offenders would be slapped with a £60 fine.

So even TV’s Inspector Morse would have been be hit. The telly cop, played by the late John Thaw, drove along Oxford’s historic streets in a gas guzzling Jaguar Mark II.

Environment chief John Tanner said the ban is “urgently needed”.

MOST READ IN UK NEWS

'get out of here'

Terrified shoppers scream for help as Travellers chase them from car park